From notes. Finally getting around to adding beers from the Ypsi Summer Beerfest! Enjoyed on July 25. The pour is a nice clear golden color with some decent white head and a small amount of lacing. The aroma is heavy on pine resin and a little bitter booze on the end. I don’t really expect a lot from a pilsner, and the flavors of it are all that dominate. The flavor is just like it sounds. There is a lot of pine resin and spruce. It does seem like I’m drinking a tree. There is a little bit of a malt profile on the back end, but for the most part it’s big, piney, and very resin-based. The mouth feel is a little light, but there is a decent carbonation and a lingering bitter resin aftertaste.

Poured cloudy, color more of a hefe or pale than a pilz. Earthy mountain pine on the nose. The taste is crisp, resiny pine. Surprising beer. It has a little lemon on the front of the palate. Interesting beer, white head diminished pretty quick.

Tap @ Shorts: Had this on tap at the 10th Anniversary Party; it was specifically labeled as the "Imperial" version, even though the ABV seems to be matching what the "non-imperial" version released in bottles was. No idea if it’s actually a different beer or not. Should be, but who knows. Honestly, pulling from memory, it seems no different to me. Just intense spruce, pine, gin, & crazy bitterness with solvent & harsh almost chemical-like notes from the alcohol. Same as the previous bottles. Some sips start off okay but then they just crescendo into a world of hurt. Just a small shade or two above undrinkable for me... Pass.

750 ml bottle purchased at Shorts many years ago and rated from notes. Pour a golden orange color with a small white head. The aroma was pure spruce that blasted from the bottle upon opening and continued into the glass. Some additional malts character with moderate sweetness tries, but can’t really overcome the spruce. The spruce played a huge role in the flavor as well. Additional bready malt, honey, earthy notes accompany the spruce. In small doses this was good, but I couldn’t drink much of this.

This brew is very niche. Which,of course, if you a Shorts fan...you appreciate. It’s aroma is quite "green" with the fresh cut spruce tips. I would go as far as saying that it has a full bodied flavor that fills in the voids beautifully. Finish is a robust hops and earthy taste with the pine throughout.

12 ounce thanks to MP. Honestly, I don’t get a lot of spruce. Big pine taste in the back of my throat and tongue. Almost hoppy. It’s the big hoppy pine I get more. But having had spruce beers that taste like Xmas trees, I’m happy that this one doesn’t taste that way.

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